Go Green Campaign News

Tourism industry forum takes Hal Heiner, Greg Fischer and Jackie Green into new territory

By Dan Klepal dklepal@courier-journal.com • August 3, 2010

The Louisville mayor’s race turned to issues important to the tourism and hospitality industry on Tuesday, with the three major candidates fielding questions from members of the Greater Louisville Hotel and Lodging Association relating to downtown, the airport — and transportation connecting the two.

Some of the questioning forced the candidates — Democrat Greg Fischer, Republican Hal Heiner and independent Jackie Green — off of familiar topics and into areas not widely discussed so far in the mayor’s race.

For example, the candidates were asked how they would create more retail shopping downtown.

Heiner and Fischer differed significantly in their responses. Heiner said Fourth Street needs to be “filled in” from Broadway to the Ohio River, and said as mayor he would call for a property-by-property assessment in that area to determine what’s possible.

“If we can’t finish Fourth Street, how are we going to finish downtown?” Heiner said. “It needs to be neat, clean and absolutely safe.”

Fischer said the real need is for more downtown housing in the $150,000 range, or lower.

“We need more downtown housing,” Fischer said. “Let’s get more people living downtown and retail will follow.”

Green, who owns a bike shop on Market Street, admitted it’s a tough problem to solve. He didn’t offer a solution.

“It’s a challenge but it’s a challenge we need to meet,” Green said. “I encourage you to join with me in establishing more downtown retail.”

The candidates were also asked what they would do to increase air traffic at the Louisville airport.

Fischer said the future of air travel is in regional flights. He said Louisville can use its small size to an advantage over bigger cities.

“You can get downtown in five minutes with good efficient transportation from the airport to the business district,” Fischer said.

Green said the airline industry has struggled for the past decade and the city shouldn’t put “too many eggs in the air basket.”

“We don’t have passenger rail and we need passenger rail in the future,” Green said.

Heiner said the number of direct flights coming into Louisville is “about half the number we need.” He said sprucing up the airport will help.

“We need to upgrade the experience in our airport from a B level to almost a Disney level,” Heiner said.

Expanded gaming was broached when the candidates were asked how they would vote on a referendum that would allow it in Louisville.

Fischer said the state loses $500 million a year to other states that offer casino-style gaming.

“That would be a tremendous enhancement to our convention and tourism industry,” Fischer said. “It will help create jobs.”

Green said he, too, favors expanded gaming.

But Heiner said he has yet to see a plan for expanded gaming that would keep that money in Louisville. He said the city should be part of writing any new law that allows for such gaming and that Churchill Downs should be a benefactor.

“In its current form, where all the money ends up in Frankfort. where is the real benefit to Louisville?” Heiner said.

Green was not initially invited to the event and instead invited to the association’s October meeting. He said he refused to attend that meeting, and was invited to Tuesday’s forum over the weekend.

“I suspect the sheer pain of the press talking about the hospitality industry being inhospitable to a mayoral candidate was too much of an irony for them,” Green said when asked why he was invited.

Michael Howerton, president of the association and vice president/general manager of the Downtown Marriott, which hosted the forum, said the change came after it became clear that Green would not attend the association’s October meeting.

Howerton said Green was not initially invited because he hadn’t filed paperwork to be on the ballot when the association put the program together. He said the change was made because Green “canceled the other date.”

“I thought the whole process went very well today,” Howerton said. “There was a lot of information shared.”

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